


A Quiet Moment

by 80sGayTrashGoblin



Series: Human OWCA AU [4]
Category: Phineas and Ferb
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, American Sign Language, Gen, Human Perry the Platypus (Phineas and Ferb), Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Smoking, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-25 19:33:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30094035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/80sGayTrashGoblin/pseuds/80sGayTrashGoblin
Summary: During a mission, Perry and Peter have a quiet moment.
Relationships: Perry the Platypus & Peter the Panda (Phineas and Ferb)
Series: Human OWCA AU [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2166198
Kudos: 20





	A Quiet Moment

**Author's Note:**

> humanowca is my new Tumblr for this AU, go there for art and incorrect quotes. 
> 
> More hints at Perry's backstory and some poetic shit that wouldn't leave me alone. Bon appetit.

Perry wouldn’t say he hated Peter. He’s known Peter for almost fifteen years now, ever since he transferred to the American branch from the British branch. They’ve been on missions together every few months or so. Peter sometimes annoyed the hell out of him, has nearly killed him on occasion, and they’re usually at each other’s throats, but he could never say that he hated the guy. In fact, Peter probably knows more about him than anyone alive. It probably says something that a coworker he sees once a few months over fifteen years knows more about him than his sister that he grew up with.

Mumbai, India. 2011. Perry stood on the balcony of the hotel room, the noise of the city keeping him company in the dead of night. They just finished their mission earlier, and are staying in the hotel for the night before returning back to Danville. 

He only had the pants and collared shirt of his suit on, the rest flung into a pile onto the floor. He wasn’t injured, but he could feel the bruises started to form. The wind brushed his skin, irritating the scars exposed to the open air. His shirt was buttoned up haphazardly, his hair ruffled without the fedora keeping it down. The platypus tattoo on his hip could barely be seen.

Perry heard thumping behind him, recognizing it as his partner. He kept his gaze trained on the horizon, watching the city around it to keep his mind from wandering.

Eventually, Peter came out. He was dressed pretty similarly to Perry: only his suit pants and unbuttoned collared shirt, unusually without any makeup or piercings in. He leaned on the balcony railing next to Perry, pulling out a cigarette and a lighter. 

Perry scrunched up his nose and turned away.  _ You know that’s awful for you, right? _ He signed, as Peter blew the smoke out and the wind whipped it away from them. 

Peter snorted and looked pointedly at him.  _ Like you don’t have experience with that, _ he signed back, cigarette burning between two fingers while his hands moved. Perry rolled his eyes, unconsciously rubbing the inside of his left arm as his eyes wandered back to the city around them. 

“Can I ask?” The sound of Peter’s voice had Perry turning back to him. Peter could speak, but he often signed and rarely actually spoke unless the situation called for it. Apparently this was serious enough for him to ask about. 

It made sense. Peter’s learned very little about Perry in the fifteen-odd years they’ve been working together. Perry’s very private, is all. 

He just shrugged.  _ You can ask. Whether I answer is different. _

Peter snorted at that. “Fair enough. What was that?” 

What did Perry do to himself? The question hung in the air. Perry leaned on the rail, keenly aware of how short he was compared to Peter. 

_ I’m not answering that, _ Perry signed.  _ All anyone needs to know is that it was a complicated bundle of fucked up. _

A few moments passed, the silence on the balcony heavy despite the sounds of the city below them. Eventually, Peter spoke up again. “Why?” 

Perry hesitated. He knew why, he lived it, could never get that memory out of his head, but did he trust Peter with it? His relationship with Peter was a strange one: sometimes he wanted to strangle the guy, but he could count on him to have his back in a firefight. They were constantly at each other’s throats, but they never crossed the invisible line. They’ve physically fought each other, yet have also had one night stands to relieve stress on particular difficult missions. In a strange way, Peter’s become his friend. 

Perry’s track record with friends hasn’t been great. 

_ Back when I was a Junior Agent in Australia,  _ he started signing. Peter perked up; he probably had stopped expecting an answer at that point.  _ I went on a mission that the higher ups called my “Greatest Success.” It was what really propelled the reputation of best agent in the branch.  _

Perry could feel Peter’s eyes on him as he turned back to the city, digging into the metal railing to ground himself from the painful memories that lingered at the edge of his mind.  _ I don’t know how you could call a mission resulting in three deaths a “Greatest Success.” _

It took a few moments, but he could hear Peter shift next to him. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and accepted the side hug, not quite reciprocating but accepting. 

“You okay?” Peter asked quietly, as if not to break the moment.

Perry just shrugged.  _ Are any of us? _

Peter snorted at that. He pulled away, snapping his fingers to get Perry’s attention.  _ I’m heading back inside. One of us needs to be awake in the morning. _

Perry nodded at the other man, turning back to the city as he went back inside. He tried to focus on the city around him, the sensation of the wind in his hair and the sounds of the cars beneath him, to distract from memories tugging at his mind. Most of them weren’t even from that mission in 1994, other missions he’d narrowly succeeded and brushed with death. 

Closely guarded secrets, narrow brushes with death, painful memories, all the price to pay for being one of OWCA’s top agents. He was born and raised an agent, and he’ll probably die an agent. All he works for is to keep the world safe for his niece and nephews.

His kids make all the pain worth it. 

Rays of light started to peak over the horizon. Perry’s been up all night. He sighed, letting a tired chatter come out, before heading back inside. Someone needed to pack up and get coffee. The flight back to Danville was gonna be a nightmare. 


End file.
